Gramophone or other sound reproducing or recording machine.



PATEN TED MAR. 3, 1908 L. T. HAILE.

GRAMOPHONB OR OTHER SOUND REPRODUGING OR RECORDING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 6,1906.

IIIIIYIIIIIII INVENTOR ma/7901a WI TNES-SES yaw-w .4 TTUIMEY.

LUTHER T. HAILE, OF PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOR, BY DIRECT ANDMESNE ASSIGNMENTS, OF ONE-FIFTH TO MAURICE N. WEYL AND WILLIAM A.MAOKIE, O'NE- FIFTH TO JOSEPH W. SHANNON, ONE-TWENTIETH 'lO FREDERICK J.GEIGE'R, AND ONE TWEN-TIETH TO LOGAN W. MULFORD, OF PHILADELPHIA,PENNSYLVANIA.

GRAMOPHONE R OTB SOUND BEPBODUCINQLOB REQFQBDING lit.rftGlli'IIttE.

no. access.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented 3, 15%8.

Application filed July 6. 1906. Elerial lilo. 3241.978.

Toall whom it may concern:

' Be it known that l, LUTHER T. HAILE, a citizen of the United States,residing in the city of Philadelphia, State of Pennsylvania,

have invented certain new and useful Imrovements in Gramophones or otherSound eproducing or Recordin lviachines, of

which the iollowin is a full, clear, and ex act description, re erencebeing had to the accompanying drawings, forming part of thisspecification. My improvements have for their general purposes orobjects to cause the instrument to prfilu'ce a clearer, louder and morenatural and pleasing tone, by means 0 ,erating to confine the vibrationswhich reach producing diaphragm to those only which are caused by theoriginal sound waves recorded on the record; also to wholly prevent thedirect vibratory contact of needle with diaphragm and the'consequenttransmission of vibrations caused by scraping of the needle on therecord, due to such direct connection as such parts are usuallyconstructed, this object'being effected by the provision of anintermediate flexible and preferably elastic connection between the headof the needle and diaphragm with means hereinafter described to eflectsuch connection; also the provision of simple means to create a tensionthereon for regulating the volume or inten cord, forming the flexibleconnection, passing through the same; Fig. 3 is a section, partly inelevation, of a double diaphragm and a sin is record needle intermediatethe same, Wit flexible conneot' n between the needle and each dia lnragnsound passages, into which each iaphragsn directly discharges its soundwaves, and a-single born into which the reboth of said sound passagesdischarge the sound waves.

Referring now to said drawings z-The diaphra In 1 is of usual con.ruction and mounts as beiore in' a sound-box or circular supportingframe 2 having a central aperture opening into the sound conveying tube28; and, as is well known, thesis-to phragni is most commonly supporteded o Wise and. hence set at right angles tne sound record to bereproduced.v A guide plate 7 is mounted on the rim of the frame 2, andhas a central aperture as usual, its iunction being to operativelysupport the needle arm 4 carrying the record needle 9. it collar 9* ismounted on the needle below the guide plate 7. .The vibratory movementsof the needle are imparted to the diaphragm through a flexibleconnection indicated at 3 in the several views, the dotted lines in Fig.1 showing the vibratory movements in such flexible connection impartedthereto by the needle movements, and transferred through such connectionto the diaphragm. This is the most important feature of the invention,the object being to convey sound waves only, the said flexibleconnection absorbing. all other sound vibrations, or rather eliminatingso all such vibrations as would necessarily arise from having the needlearm connected rigidly, as heretofore, by a curved head or othernon-flexible connection, to the diaphragm. For example, the movements ofthe needle over the record which produce sound waves correspondingthereto, are in and out or lateral movements any vertical movement ofthe needle has no such result, but on the contrary produces vibrationsof the diaphragm which are inconsistent therewith, eil'ecting a scratchysound. (lbviouslly, as indicated by the dotted lines, a

e connection between needle arm and diaphragnr'checks or absorbs allsuch vibrations and consequent sound waves not desired. This principleof a flexible connection between the head of the-needle arm and thediaphragm is exemplified in its best form in Fig. 2 of the drawingsillustrating means which embody further novel features of my invention.In said Fig. 2 it will be observed the needle arm l is shown hollowedout for the greater part of its length above the guide plate 7, and atthe base of the recess is an aperture 7 through the wall of the hollow.needle arm. The flexible connection 3 prefflexibility,,elasticity andnon-frictional char- 'acter; As the latter is not wholly possible, theneedle arm is preferably in the form of a hollow cone, to give strengthand lightness, and the recess therein is hushed with suitable material,referably felt or rubber to revent friction o the cord therewith, asi efrom which such construction serves to protect the flexible connectionfrom undue wear. Such flexible cord is secured by any suitable means tothe center of the diaphragm, pass ing from thence through. the recess inthe needle arm and emerging through the aperture 7 and is wound on theshaft of a thumb-screw 6. This construction gives an additional and mostimportant advantage, namely, a turn of the thumb-screw in eitherdirection will increase or decrease, as the case may be, the tension ofthe connecting cord and the diaphragm, thereby varying at will theloudness or softness of tone of the sound. Waves reproduced through thediaphragm; the means described for so doing ein so simple as to bereadily coniprehen ed and used by the amateur operator of theinstrument. This part of my invention, the chief, element of which isthe flexible connection described, is a wholly novel departure from anyknown device of this class, wherein there are no adequate means toadjust 'the instrument to variations of tone of sound waves, and whereinthere is a rigid connection-between the needle arm and the diaphragm,hence the latter res onds, in vibrations, to every movement oi theneedle, and owing to irregularities or imperfections commonly in therecords, discordant counter vibrations are set u a defect whollyobviated by my inven ion described.

The sound-box is operatively supported, by the sound-conveying arm 28,in such relation to the disk-record, as usual, that the vibrations ofthe needlewill be in a plane transverse to that of the plane of thediaphragm', as indicated by the dotted lines in ig. 1; but a mostvaluable feature of my invention is that I can utilize the flexibleconnection to cause two diaphragms of a multi le sound-box 'to vibratesimulta-' neous y and in opposite directions to each other, bymerelychanging the operative position of such multiple sound-box and thesound-conveying arm, relatively to the diskre'cord, that thesound-grooves in the latter will vibrate the needle in the usual way butin a plane parallel with the plane of the dia hragms instead oftransversely thereto.

will now describe a form of my invention eeasra wherein the ieatu're ofa double diaphragm, set face to. face and vibrating in oppositedirections, is embodied.

In Fig. 3 is shown a sound box composed of a pair of diaphragms 1, 1,each mounted in a circular frame 2, as before, and facing spaced by abar 2 at top and by the per-v forated guide plate 7 at base. space, soformed, between the diaphragms and their frames, a single needle arm andneedle, and adjunctive parts as heretofore described in relation toFigs. 1 and 2, are

each other, said frame being joined and In the said arranged. I preferhowever to arrange in i such space a metallic bar 12, perforated toallow the passage of the flexible connections to the respectivediaphragms and serving as a guiding support for such flexibleconnections.

The diaphragm frames, shown in Fig. 4 constituting the pair of soundboxes have rearward central openings; with which comniunicate,respectively, the separate tubes 10, 1.0, leading as branches from asingle tube .or horn 10 The said frames and L, e

branched horn, for the set of double dia" phragms will, however, be madethe subject of a separate application for Letters Patent.

Both diaphragnis are .simultaneously" vibrated by the same movements ofthe reprois provided with a small loop through which ducing needle,hence the sound waves propair-of diaphrv'xaigms and the other flexiblecord connection freely passes, its ends being secured to theoppositely-disposed diaphragms.

- It is obvious that the two first described and leading features of myinvention or either of them may beused, in like manner in'mach'ines ofthis class for recording sound waves as well as for reproducing themfrom a record or tablet. And it is further .to beobserved that in thefollowing claims the word cord "em ployed to designate the flexibleconnection is not to be construed as limiting that element to what istechnically a string or cord, butto be inclusive of any equivalenttherefor such as I have recited in the foregoing specification. I

Having thus described. my invention I claim as new and desire to secureby Letters Patent:

1. In apparatus of the class recited for recording or reproducingsound-waves, the combination with a sound-box containing a diaphragm, aneedle-arm adapted to carry a i like connection between the needle-armand combination with a diaphragm and means to means consistingsubstantially of a flexible .-'record needle and having means to guide avibrating flexible cord leading therefrom to the diaphragm, a perforatedguide-plate supporting said elements in operative relation to each otherand adapted to traverse the record tablet radially, and a flexible cordthe diaphra m' operatin to transmit the vibrations o theneedledirectl'y' to the diaphragm, with means carried by said guideplateoperating to increase or decrease the tension in saidflexibleconnection.

2. In apparatus of the class recited, the

operatively-support the same, of a hollow needle arm, the wall of whichis perforated near-its base, and a flexible cord passing through theinterior of the needle arm and connecting it with the diaphragm.

3. In apparatus of the class recited, the combination with a diaphragm,a stylus or record needle, and means to support each of the sameindependently but in operative relation, of a hollow,needle arm mountedto respond to the vibratory movements of the needle, and means adaptedand operating to transmit the lateral vibratory movements only of theneedle to the diaphragm, said cord-like connection secured atone end tothe basal portion of the needle arm and passing freely through thehollow interior thereof to the dia )hragm to which its opposite end isattached. "4. In apparatus of the class recited, the combination with adiaphragm and means to operatively support the same, of a hollow needlearm, a bushing of anti-friction mate= rial within the same, and aflexible cord passing through the interior of the needle arm andconnecting it with the diaphragm.

5. In apparatus of the class recited, the combination with a diaphragmand means to operatively support the same, a hollow needle armperforated near its base, a flQXl ble cord passing through theinterior'of said needle arm and connecting it with the diaphragm, andmeans to adjust the tension on the combination with a sound-boxcontaining relation to each other, a needle arm operatively supported insaid space, and a flexi ble connection between each of said diaphragmsand the needle arm, whereby said -d iaphra ms are adapted to vibratesimul taneous T but in the opposite direction from each other, andactuated by a'single needlearm impinging upon or engagingwith the saidflexible connection.

8. In an instrument of the class recited, the combination with twodiaphragms arranged facing each other,-means to support them in spacedrelation, a needle arm operatively sup'orted in said space, a flexibleconnection second flexible connection secured atone end to the needlearm and havin a looped end through which the first flexi le connectionfreely passes.

9. the combination with two diaphragms arranged facing each other, meansto support them in spaced relation, a needle arm operatively sup )ortedin said space, a flexible connection etween each diaphragm, anda secondflexible connection secured at one end to the needle and havin a loopedend through which the first fleXi le connection freely passes, said loopbeing lined or covered with nonresonant material,

Intestimony whereof, I have hereunto allixed my signature this third dayof July A. I). 1906.

LUTHER T. HAILE.

Witnesses:

IIENRY 'l. GULLMANN, JosEPn W. SHANNON.

etween eachdiaphragm, and a In an instrument of the class recited, I

